HELLOOOO Anyone out there????

I am wondering if anyone is out there.. Did you get my last post???? Do you all want to wait until Jan 1 to start this...

Should we wait?

Ok everyone..
So I notice that everyone is sluggish in posting and after speaking with some of you by phone, I know that it is a very overwhelming time of the year. I was wondering if it would be better for everyone if we waited until the first of the year to begin. I would love your responses on this so we can make a decision. Just let me know what you all would rather do. I am flexible.

Quick Prayer Request

Hello ladies...
One of our fellow authors on the blog, Barb, is going to have a stress test done today. I just wanted to let you all know so that you can join us in praying for her.

Introduction

Well ladies, as some of you know, the sickness has struck yet again at my house. I had hoped to have my stuff posted on here sooner but the germs got the best of me and that was not to happen.

I do not know about you all but I am sooo excited about this study! Reading the intro got me all pumped up and ready to go!

I will start with the questions in the Study Guide. I will label the subtitle the question is listed under.

Reasons to Study Gods Attributes
1. Tozers four reasons to study the attributes were:
a. A worthy concept of God is crucial, because He is the cause behind all things and the only One who can give meaning to our existence.
b. For our own spiritual protection
c. to develop faith and trust in Him
d. Because we have lost the dignity and inwardness of true Chrisitianity, and we are desperately in need of revival.

Are their other possible reasons besides these for studying God's attributes? For me, the reason to study them is more personal. For those of us who "grew up" in church, it is so easy to know "about God" and never really "KNOW GOD." It is my hearts desire to have a REAL, clear view of who God is. Not my picture I have created over the years. Not the picture that other people have painted for me. I NEED to KNOW who my God is. His character, his nature, his attributes.. all of him.

What relationship does Tozer draw between our concept of God and our Christian walk? Tozer talks about mankind falling as soon as we lost our right concept of God. I just wonder how easily we are lured by false gods because we do not have a right concept of the God we serve! If we have a weak view of God, why would we choose a harder road? In our daily walk, we would want to take the easy way out or the most convenient ways but if we have a TRUE and LOFTY right concept of GOD, nothing will stop us! We will be bowling over anything that stands in our way.

2. How can learning God's attributes improve our concept of God?
I love this quote " If we just make up our own minds concerning what He is like, then we are just creating an idol in our heads." (Tozer book I) If you look up the definition of the word Concept you will find.. an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances. I was thinking about that and I thought, you know if I based my idea of who God is on specific instances, I would have a very weak version of who is really is. The bible has clearly laid out who God is and what his attributes are. If we base our knowledge of him on "instances" or experiences, or emotions, then we are not getting the ENTIRE God but only those parts of him. One of the things I loved in the first book is when Tozer talks about how what God is, He is infinitely! If my view of God is not based on learned information from his revealed word then I can not possibly see the infinitude of his character.

3. What attributes especially intrigue you?
All of them. Because I am enjoying learning each specific trait and how it so perfectly fits into a perfectly HOLY God.


I want to end with some quotes from the intro that really stood out to me.
"..because man lost his confidence in God. He didn't know God's character. He didn't know what kind of God, God was. He got all mized up about what God was like. Not the only way back is to have restored confidence in God. And the only way to have restored confidence in God is to have restored knowledge in God." (4)

"If we have lost only that which is inward and gained only that which is outward, I wonder if we have gained anything at all." (8)

To close, as Tozer talked about the book of Ezekiel and the Shekinah Glory of God, I would ask you join me in seeking the same. May our prayer be, "We must see God again; we must feel God again; we must know God again; we must hear God again. Nothing less than that will save us."

I pray that God would blow fresh life into each of us as we seek to learn more of him. I pray that we can put aside preconceived notions about who God is and that we would allow God to open our eyes and see him as he wants us to see him. I pray that we would begin this study blinded as Saul and we walk away at the books end with a Paul type vision of Christ. That our view of him would be so GRAND that we would be declaring ourselves as a bond-servant of Christ!

Introduction

Now on to the questions!

1-There are multitudes of reasons to Study God's attributes one I think that is most pround is that we need to know who God is to really know our own value and worth, which is of naught in comparison to the infinty that God is valuable and worthy!
- Tozer claims that if we study the Attributes of God "we will develope our faith" I will have to disagree with this! For apart from God we have no such Faith it is a gift given! by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is \the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8) But I see Tozer's point, by studying God's attributes He can grow and strengthen our faith!


2- Knowing God's attributes will take Him out of the little box we tend to put Him in and take Him out of when we need Him, and give Him His true place of Honor and Glory so we might better honor and Glorify Him


3- Honestly I am excited to dicuss each and every one of our Lord's Attributes, but particularly His Sovereignty, Because I am just amazed each and everyday by His workings! Though I know He does not cause us to sin, He knows each and everyone of the areas we fall short before we realize it!! From time to time He even allows us to fall into a particular pattern of sin to grow and strenthen us and to show us His glory so that we might give Him honor and praise!! Through all of our short comings that He knew we would have He still chose us from the Foundation of the world!!!



Ladies I am so thankful our Glorious Lord has given us this time together to pray for eachother, to fellowship with one another, (though oceans and many miles seperate) the Lord has brought us to this place to learn more about Him for us to strenthen and encourage one another through His word! I pray that we can all learn and grow from this! We serve a great and wonderful God!


May this bring Him all Honor and glory!

Does Everyone have their books?

I just wanted to verify that everyone has a book and is ready to begin. I thought that we would begin this week with the introduction. Read the introduction and skim over the study guide and questions for session one in the back of the book. Feel free to contribute whatever you wish any time this week. I plan to have something posted by Tuesday but this session's discussion will continue until the following Sunday. You have all week long to get this section done. I am looking forward to a great discussion with you all. I hope that you had great Thanksgiving holiday and are now ready to jump in with both feet. Talk with you all soon.

Chapter 10: God's Perfection

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. (Psalm 50:2)

As usual we seem to have underlined a lot of the same things so posting after you is either no fun because you have already stated the good stuff or helpful because you did a lot of the typing for me. Here are my thoughts.

I will start with the gains and losses which at first threw me like the study guide said it would but I loved this listing of our gains that have resulted in losses.

- Added numbers, yes, but lost fear. Multiplied schools, yes, but lost awareness of the invisible. Tons of literature being poured out, of course, but no consciousness of the divine Presence. Better communication, certainly, but nothing to communicate. Evangelistic organizations, yes, but the concept of majesty and worship and reverence has almost left us.

"And at last our gains may prove to be no more than losses spread over a larger area." pg. 181

"If we have only so much glory and we spread it thin, we have not gained anything." pg. 181

We then moved to the definition of perfection

- "the highest possible degree of excellence." That which is perfect lacks nothing it should have and has nothing it should not have.

I thought okay we are getting to the topic "God's Perfection" now but he threw me with

- "If perfection means the highest possible degree of excellence, then we cannot apply this thought to God at all. How can we apply "the highest possible" to God? Is there anything that isn't possible with God? As though God had been created and had done the highest thing possible, that He was as perfect as it was possible for Him to be? No, you can't apply that to God; that's only applied to creatures."

Is it just me or were you thinking where is Tozer going with this. He is posing more questions about God's Perfection than I had before I began reading. But when he went back to the infinitude of God and the no degrees in God the losses became clear. The loss of majesty! Thinking of perfection as it is applied to creatures.

- "God is not at the top of the heap in an ever-ascending perfection of being, from worm on up until finally we reach God. On the contrary, God is completely different and separate, so that there are no degrees in God. God is simply God, an infinite perfection of fullness,"

"To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal?" (Isaiah 40:25)

WOW! I too liked how he said "God is not limited in Himself, he is limited in us."

"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined" (Psalm 50:2)

What Honors God is Beautiful-this is where he talked about Theology being beautiful which I had never thought of it that way but I too loved his description of it as "the mind down on its knees in a state of breathless devotion, reasoning about God." That is beautiful.

Beauty Centers around Christ-I liked what was written in the study guide under this section.

- "Beauty centers around Christ because He Himself is God, the source of all beauty. Heaven is beautiful because Jesus is there. Our choice, the greatest choice we have to make, is whether we spend our lives seeking after beauty (seeking after Christ!).

Okay, now to the questions.

Our Gains and Losses

You already listed them. The one I believed we could add in today's culture was the increase in the availability of Christian literature.

No Awareness of the Eternal

I agree with what you wrote and I read Tozer in amazement of how accurate what he preached 60 years ago is to the church today.

What is Perfection

I answered this above I think.

No Degrees in God

1. Things are perfect and excellent contingent and relative to other things. God is not perfect or excellent in comparison. He is self-existent and absolute in His perfection and excellence.

2. I like how you wrote that all things are more beautiful in the light of his Glory and Grace!

What Honors God is Beautiful

1. I too loved his definition of theology and it amazes me.

2a. I think that the wrong concepts people have is applying what we think is wonderful and beautiful about earth to heaven and not going any farther in our thinking, to the "perfection of beauty" being there.

2b. By thinking and learning more about heaven and the perfection of beauty.

Beauty Center around Christ

"beauty" means in the presence of Christ. Our responsibility in regard to the mix of beauty and ugliness on earth should be to seek beauty-to seek Christ.

This book has truly raised my concept of God. This chapter just took it up another notch. I can't wait to get started on the next book and continue this journey till "my concept of God is worthy of God and can be noble and dignified; so it can be reverent, profound, beautiful."